BELGRADE - the best insider tips for vacation, holiday & travel

Since the end of the turbulent nineties, Belgrade has mostly been visited on business and increasingly for nightlife and partying thanks to great value of accommodation, dining and especially clubbing options. Younger party loving tourists appreciate cheap club entrance fees, drinks and cigarettes mixed with all-night fun in bars, clubs and particularly at numerous raft-clubs floating on the Sava and some on the Danube. Organized tourist groups usually visit only the historic Old Town core and the magnificent Kalemegdan Fortress with the landmark Victor statue on a plateau with panoramic views of New Belgrade’s urban skyline on the opposite side of the Sava.

Don’t miss out on dining in Skadarlija, the charming turn of the century style bohemian quarter full of restaurants and live music, typically old traditional and local tunes. The city core represents a unique mixture of both Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire architectural and cultural heritage blended with modern urban structures from the communist Yugoslavia period and more recent contemporary development.

Also, expect some utterly shocking scenes of the centrally located military HQ and other state buildings demolished during the 1999 bombing. A longer stay in Belgrade will introduce you to the current transition period reality in terms of infrastructure, services, new luxury hotels, new restaurants, quality and overall social experience. It is always a good idea to mingle with some savvy and friendly locals who might show you the less known but cool or even underground places to go out to.